Senators notebook: Kleven's looming return boosts blue line

OTTAWA — Defence wins championships, and right now the Ottawa Senators' defence is depleted.

But that group could be getting a welcome return soon.

Tyler Kleven skated with the team on Wednesday once again in a full-contact jersey but wearing a full-face shield. Coach Travis Green played the post-season gamesmanship card by declining to say whether Kleven is playing in Game 3 on Thursday against the Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+). But he did say Kleven is getting closer to returning from the jaw injury he suffered when he took a puck to the face against the Buffalo Sabres on April 2.

The Senators declined to make Kleven available to the media.

If he returned for Game 3, it would be a needed boost to a depleted D-corps.

Carolina had the second most points in the regular season and is fully healthy, so the Senators’ challenge was going to be a mighty one. But without Kleven, Artem Zub and Nick Jensen — three season regulars on defence who all have missed at least one game in the series with injuries — it’s become a mammoth undertaking. And that doesn't factor in Thomas Chabot, who only recently returned from a broken arm which healed bionically in record time.

The Senators now trail the series 0-2 but hope to make that up in the next two games at home.

What Kleven’s return would mean to the Senators

Kleven burst onto the scene against Toronto in last year's playoffs, throwing thunderous hits, making sneaky good zone exits and imposing his will. He was playing his best hockey of this season right before his injury, too.

Green alluded to the fact that the quartet of Chabot, Jake Sanderson, Jordan Spence and Nikolas Matinpalo each played over 30 minutes on Monday in the double-overtime classic. If the team had their regular D-corps, those minutes could have been divided among more players. If Kleven draws back into the fold, it will relieve the pressure and allow the other defencemen to thrive, not just survive.

An interesting subplot is what Green does with his top four if Kleven returns. Kleven and Spence were magnificent this season with the best expected goals share of any pairing in the league at five-on-five. With Kleven and Zub out, the top two pairs have been Sanderson-Matinpalo and Chabot-Spence.

You’d imagine Green would plop Kleven back with Spence, who has been excellent, but what would that mean for Chabot and Sanderson? Green could put them together to form a loaded top pair, although they only played together for 20 minutes at five-on-five this season. He could also keep Sanderson with Matinpalo, but the duo has been caved in by the Hurricanes so far, outshot six to 21 when they are together at five-on-five in the series.

Regardless, Kleven’s return would be a mighty dynamic shift in the series.

When asked whether he would continue to run Chabot, Sanderson and Spence into the ground, Green replied, “We're going to do whatever it takes to win.

“If that means Sanderson and Chabot got to play 30-35 (minutes), then that's what it takes.”

Chabot and Sanderson are used to it, but it’s not ideal. Both have routinely played big minutes over their careers.

“I think the guys that do that on the back end, they don't exert a lot of energy to skate fast,” said Green about defencemen who eat up big minutes effectively.

“Chabot is really good, (he) can, kind of, float around the rink pretty effortlessly. Kicks it up to high gear, it's almost another notch.”

In Game 2, Green primarily played the more offensive and dynamic Lassi Thomson in the offensive zone, while Dennis Gilbert mostly started in the defensive zone.

With Kleven back, the Senators would only have one weak link on the backend, as only one of Thomson or Gilbert would play in a limited role as the sixth defenceman.

The Senators have been neck and neck with Carolina despite their depleted blue line. Kleven drawing back into the lineup makes a comeback in the series a much more attainable task.

Zub update

The fact that Zub has yet to skate since his injury in Game 1 makes his return doubtful for Game 3 and more ominous for this post-season. For what it’s worth, Zub was considered a game-time decision for Game 2, and Green didn't rule him out to come back in the series.

Forward line change

In such a tight series, the details matter. The Senators have the last change now that they are on home ice, an advantage they will use to the fullest.

“Both teams like to match, lots of teams do nowadays, not just forwards, but defence pairings as well,” said Green.

Ottawa had real trouble trying to shut down the Hurricanes' second and third lines of Taylor Hall-Logan Stankoven-Jackson Blake and Nikolaj Ehlers-Jordan Staal-Jordan Martinook.

In the first two games, Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour used the last change to play Stankoven’s line matched up against Shane Pinto’s line while Staal’s line went up against Tim Stutzle’s line.

Expect more Pinto against the Hurricanes' quiet first line in Games 3 and 4, and look for Green to make sure Stutzle’s line avoids Staal like the plague.

Interestingly, Green went nuclear against Carolina in Game 2, placing Brady Tkachuk alongside Stutzle and Drake Batherson. Meanwhile, Claude Giroux dropped down to the second line with Dylan Cozens, Warren Foegele went up to Pinto’s side, and Nick Cousins joined the fourth line. It was effective as Tkachuk-Stutzle-Batherson had an expected goal share of 64 per cent.

“Might have to work seven or eight shifts to just get a grade-A (chance),” said Batherson about his line.

Carolina is so good defensively that Ottawa might need to load up its three best forwards more often to find a breakthrough, as the Senators have just two goals in as many games.

Meanwhile, midway through Game 2, Foegele joined Pinto and Michael Amadio. The trio was immensely effective, having an 80 per cent shot share. Previously, Cousins was the left-winger on that line and before his demotion, the line had 14 per cent of the expected goals and was negative nine in shot attempts.

The mixing and matching is something Green can afford to do because the Senators had Foegele and Fabian Zetterlund on the fourth line. Both had 20-goal seasons in 2024-25.

It’s real depth and it gives Green reasons to flip his lines.

“There’s a chance you might start on the third line,” Green joked when asked by Graeme Nichols of The Hockey News about the Senators' lineup.

The players are so interchangeable that even reporters could get into the action and get "pucks in deep" conceivably.

We kid, but that’s an area Green won’t be scared to finagle. If Green needs to change up the forward group, it’ll happen.

“All options are on the table,” said Green.

“Put any of our forwards on in different lines. We've done that a lot this year.

The team is used to their malleability.

The caveat is that all the statistics for the trios and pairings are based on a small sample size. But in the playoffs, there is little room to wait for regression to the mean. Credit to Green for his in-game adjustments, which will continue as the series moves along.